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Friends, Spurs Fans, San Antonians - Lend me your ears

Performing Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare, Act III, scene ii - David Stern (playing Brutus) after giving a stirring speech condemning the actions of Gregg Popovich and being cheered by the citizens, has left the dais. J.R. Wilco (playing the role of Marc Antony) steps forward to make his own address...

By J.R. Wilco
Steve Dykes-US PRESSWIRE

Friends, Spurs Fans, San Antonians, lend me your ears;
I come to take money from Popovich, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is often buried at the end of the article;
So let it be with Popovich. Noble David Stern
Called Popovich's actions unacceptable:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Popovich paid for it.
Here, under leave of Stern and the rest--
(For Stern is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men)
Come I to speak at Popovich's fining.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Stern says he was unacceptable;
And Stern is an honourable man.
Pop brought many championships home to the Alamo
Whose parades did the Riverwalk fill:
Did this in Popovich seem unacceptable?
When the Spurs have lost, Popovich hath wept:
Unacceptability should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Stern says he was unacceptable;
And Stern is an honourable man.
You all did see that in last year's playoffs
I thrice presented him the Coach of the Year Award,
Which he did thrice refuse: was this unacceptable?
Yet Stern says he was unacceptable;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
I speak not to disprove what Stern spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did respect him once, not without cause:
What cause forces you then, to whine about him?
O judgment! thou art fled to South Beach,
And talking heads have lost their reason. Bear with me;
My money is in the league's coffers there with Pop's,
And I must pause for it will not come back to me.

With much appreciation to W.S.

[Editor's Note: The first time I ever read Marc Antony's speech which inspired this post, I was a high school sophmore. I'm sure there was a giant question mark rotating over my head as I puzzled over this passage. I could NOT understand how Antony had made the crowd suddenly turn on the Brutus they'd just been cheering -- and in the space of less than 270 words (especially considering the words he chose). But once I'd heard a live performance of it, and realized how sarcastically Antony was using the word "honorable" toward the end of that speech ... I was blown away.]

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